Main:Aiko Sugihara
Higashiosaka, Japan |Row 3 title = Years on National Team |Row 3 info = 2015-present |Row 4 title = Club |Row 4 info = Asahi Seimei; Hagaromo Gymnastics (former) |Row 5 title = Current status |Row 5 info = Active}}Aiko Sugihara (Japanese: 愛子杉原; born September 18 in Higashiosaka) is an elite Japanese gymnast and 2016 Olympian. She represented Japan at the 2015 World Championships and the 2015 Asian Championships, where she won team and all-around gold. Career 2014-2015 Still competing as a junior, Sugihara placed sixteenth in the all-around at the Japanese National Championships and twelfth at the NHK Cup in 2014. She turned senior the following year, and started off by winning all-around bronze at the Japanese Nationals and gold at the NHK Cup. She went on to win floor exercise silver, balance beam bronze, and place eighth on uneven bars at the Japanese Individual National Championships. Following that competition, she was named to represent Japan at the Asian Championships in Hiroshima. There, she helped Japan win team gold over China, and took the all-around title as well. Additionally, she won silver on uneven bars and floor exercise. She was then named to the Japanese team for the World Championships. There, she helped Japan place fifth in the team final and qualify a full team to the Olympics. 2016 Sugihara again won all-around bronze at the Japanese National Championships and followed it up with another all-around bronze at the NHK Cup. In June, she won uneven bars and floor exercise silver and placed eighth on balance beam at the Japanese Individual Nationals. She was promptly named to the Japanese team for the Olympics in Brazil.Olympics Rio Olympics Japan competed in the last subdivision of qualifications, starting on floor exercise. She performed well and helped Japan qualified seventh into the team final. The Japanese greatly improved their performance in the team final, finishing in fourth. 2017 Sugihara started off the season by winning all-around silver at the Japanese National Championships in April. In June, she placed fourth on uneven bars and fifth on floor exercise at the Japanese Individual Nationals. In October, she competed at the World Championships in Montreal, Canada, placing sixth in the all-around. In December, she won silver on floor and placed ninth on beam at the Toyota International. 2018 Sugihara competed at the Tokyo World Cup in April, but mistakes on bars and beam dropped her to sixth in the all-around. She fared better at the Japanese National Championships later that month and the NHK Cup in May, where she finished fourth at both competitions. Sugihara was later named to the Japanese team for the World Championships in Doha, Qatar in late October. However, she withdrew from the competition prior to qualifications, but remained on the team during the competition, supporting them on the floor. After Doha, she competed at the Toyota International in December, winning silver on floor. 2019 Sugihara returned to the Tokyo World Cup in April, but a fall on floor exercise left her in fourth place in the all-around. Later that month, she competed at the Japanese National Championships, placing fifth in the all-around, and later placed fourth at the NHK Cup. At the Japanese Individual National Championships, she won silver on floor exercise and placed sixth on balance beam. In July, she competed at the Universiade in Naples, Italy, helping Japan win team gold over Russia, and additionally won silver on floor exercise and placed fourth in the all-around and on balance beam. In October, she competed at the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. While Japan didn't make the team final, she helped them qualify a full team to the 2020 Olympics. In December, she competed at the Toyota International, placing fifth on balance beam. Medal Count Floor Music 2016 - "Viva! (Orion Mix)" by Bond 2017-2018 - “Saving Metroville”/ “Life’s Incredible Again” from The Incredibles References